Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle

Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle

The lysogenic cycle is a crucial viral replication strategy that allows bacteriophages to persist within host cells without immediately destroying them. This process is primarily observed in temperate phages, such as bacteriophage lambda (λ), which infects Escherichia coli. The cycle allows the viral genome to persist across bacterial generations while keeping host cells viable.Integration of the Viral GenomeUpon infection, bacteriophage lambda attaches to the bacterial surface and injects its...

Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages

In contrast to the lytic cycle, phages infecting bacteria via the lysogenic cycle do not immediately kill their host cell. Instead, they combine their genome with the host genome, allowing the bacteria to replicate the phage DNA along with the bacterial genome. The incorporated copy of the phage genome is called the prophage. Some prophages can re-activate and enter the lytic cycle. This often occurs in response to a perturbation, such as DNA damage, but can also transpire in the absence of...

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are specialized viruses that infect bacteria. A key characteristic of phages is their distinctive “head-tail” morphology. A phage begins the infection process (i.e., lytic cycle) by attaching to the outside of a bacterial cell. Attachment is accomplished via proteins in the phage tail that bind to specific receptor proteins on the outer surface of the bacterium. The tail injects the phage’s DNA genome into the bacterial cytoplasm. In the lytic replication...

Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle

Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Among them, T-even bacteriophages, such as T4, exhibit a well-characterized lytic replication cycle in Escherichia coli (E. coli). This process ensures the rapid proliferation of the virus while ultimately leading to the destruction of the bacterial host.Attachment and DNA InjectionThe infection process begins with the recognition and binding of the T4 phage to the E. coli cell surface. Tail fibers of the phage...

DNA Bacteriophages

DNA Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, utilizing their genetic material to hijack host cellular machinery for replication. DNA bacteriophages employ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes. These phages exhibit diverse replication strategies and host interactions, influencing their ecological roles and applications in biotechnology and medicine.ssDNA BacteriophagesssDNA phages, with their small genomes, utilize unique strategies to...

Prokaryotic Transcriptional Activators and Repressors

Prokaryotic Transcriptional Activators and Repressors

The organization of prokaryotic genes in their genome is notably different from that of eukaryotes. Prokaryotic genes are organized, such that the genes for proteins involved in the same biochemical process or function are located together in groups. This group of genes, along with their regulatory elements, are collectively known as an operon. The functional genes in an operon are transcribed together to give a single strand of mRNA known as polycistronic mRNA.
Transcription of prokaryotic...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Rethinking the Last Universal Common Ancestor of Life: Network Convergence and the Root of the Tree.

Astrobiology·2026

Same author

Single-phage profiling illuminates viral individuality during bacterial cell fate determination.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Cell Growth and Division Shape mRNA-Protein Correlations.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

A human-in-the-loop explanation framework for morphologically transparent AI predictions from whole-slide images.

NPJ digital medicine·2026

Same author

Monotherapy cancer drug-blind response prediction is limited to intraclass generalization.

PLoS computational biology·2026

Same author

Comparison of Emotional Content in Text Responses From Physicians and AI Chatbots to Patient Health Queries: Cross-Sectional Study.

Journal of medical Internet research·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Following Cell-fate in E. coli After Infection by Phage Lambda

Following Cell-fate in E. coli After Infection by Phage Lambda

Published on: October 14, 2011

Lambda-prophage induction modeled as a cooperative failure mode of lytic repression.

Nicholas Chia¹, Ido Golding, Nigel Goldenfeld

¹Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|November 13, 2009

Summary

This study models lambda phage repression in E. coli, revealing a four-component circuit. Failures in this circuit lead to prophage induction, aligning with experimental ultraviolet radiation data.

More Related Videos

Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics

Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics

Published on: January 5, 2024

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Published on: September 28, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Following Cell-fate in E. coli After Infection by Phage Lambda

Following Cell-fate in E. coli After Infection by Phage Lambda

Published on: October 14, 2011

Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics

Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics

Published on: January 5, 2024

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Published on: September 28, 2022

Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Systems Biology
Biophysics

Background:

Bacteriophage lambda regulates its lifecycle through a complex genetic circuit.
Lytic repression is crucial for maintaining lysogeny in Escherichia coli.
Understanding phage-host interactions is vital for microbial genetics.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a system-level model of lytic repression in lambda phage.
To analyze the reliability of the repressor circuit using reliability theory.
To predict prophage induction under specific conditions.

Main Methods:

Utilized reliability theory to model the repressor circuit.
Incorporated biochemical mechanisms like long-range cooperative binding.
Compared model predictions with experimental data for ultraviolet radiation.

Main Results:

Identified the repressor circuit as comprising four redundant components.
Characterized component failure as prophage induction.
Achieved good agreement between model predictions and experimental data.

Conclusions:

The reliability model accurately captures lambda phage lytic repression dynamics.
Redundancy in the repressor circuit plays a key role in phage survival.
The model provides a quantitative framework for understanding phage-host interactions.